Coldwater baseball splits with Jackson, takes game two in 10 inning thriller

JACKSON – The Coldwater Cardinal varsity baseball team took the trip to Jackson Northwest on Tuesday to cap off their Interstate 8 Conference schedule with a doubleheader versus the Mounties.

The two teams battled to a split of the two games, with game one going the way of the Mounties, while game two went to the Cardinals in extra innings.

Game one on the night saw Northwest put up five runs in the first inning and seven in the second to put the game away early on the way to the 13-3 win. The Mounties out hit Coldwater 8-5 in the game and took advantage of five Coldwater fielding errors.

Evan Porter took the loss on the mound for Coldwater after throwing 4 1/3 innings, allowing eight hits and 13 runs, only two of which were earned, with one walk and three strikeouts.

Drake Thornton led the Coldwater offense with a single and a double with a run scored. Also adding to the Cardinal offense was Porter, Brady Massey, and Owen Tappenden all with singles, while Dayton Ennis notched an RBI.

Game two was more of a pitcher’s duel as Coldwater hung on late to defeat Northwest 5-4 in 10 innings.

Coldwater out hit Northwest 13-8 in the win while both teams suffered four tough fielding errors.

The was tied at 4-4 after the Mounties plated a run in the sixth inning, and while neither team was able to score in the final at-bats, fans were treated to some extra baseball.

The game remained at 4-4 until the top of the tenth inning when Coldwater broke the tie with two outs. Thornton led off the rally with a single to centerfield, which led to a steal of second base. The next batter, Ennis, smacked a hard ground ball to left field, allowing Thornton to score from second and give the Cardinals the 5-4 lead.

Northwest went down quietly in the bottom of the tenth, promptly sitting down in order to preserve the 5-4 win.

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Drake Thornton took the win on the mound for Coldwater after throwing three innings in relief, allowing no hits with one walk and two strikeouts. Dayton Ennis made the start in the game, throwing seven innings while giving up eight hits and four runs, one earned, with three walks and four strikeouts.

Thornton also led the way at the plate for Coldwater, finishing with a 3-for-5 night with two runs scored. Ethan Parker also finished the game going 3-for-5 with three singles while Ennis and Lackey both added a pair of singles, with Lackey driving in a run. Owen Tappenden had a single with two runs scored while Matt Nichols added a single and an RBI. Lucas Wischmeyer also added a single and an RBI to help in the win.

With the exciting game two win the Coldwater baseball program improves to 13-14 overall on the season. The Cardinals will be back in action Thursday when they host Lakewood.

This article originally appeared on Coldwater Daily Reporter: Coldwater baseball splits with Jackson, takes game two in 10 inning thriller